The tropical storm Isaac formed in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday and is expected to strengthen as it moves eastward, possibly becoming a hurricane by the end of the week, forecasters said.
Isaac was located about 700 miles (1,115 kilometers) northeast of Bermuda with sustained winds of 53 mph (85 km/h), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. It was moving east at about 12 mph (19 km/h).
A tropical storm is defined by sustained winds between 62 and 117 km/h. Winds greater than this speed make it a hurricane.
Mexico still reeling from hurricane John that struck the country’s southern Pacific coast late Monday, killing two people, ripping tin roofs off homes, causing mudslides and toppling dozens of trees, authorities said Tuesday.
Isaac is the ninth named storm in what is expected to be a busy hurricane season, which runs from May 1er June to November 30 in the Atlantic. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts between 17 and 25 named storms, with up to 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.
An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, including seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes.
At the same time, the huge hurricane Helen swamped parts of Mexico on Wednesday as it followed a path that forecasters said would take it to Florida as a potentially catastrophic storm with a shockwave that could engulf entire homes.
The dire warning sent residents scrambling to higher ground, closed schools and led to states of emergency across the southeastern United States.
PHOTO GERALD HERBERT, ASSOCIATED PRESS
A man cleans up debris in Panacea, Fla., on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024.
The center of the hurricane Helen was located about 455 miles (735 kilometers) southwest of Tampa, Florida, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The hurricane is expected to intensify and accelerate as it moves across the Gulf of Mexico toward the Big Bend region on Florida’s northwest coast. It is expected to make landfall late Thursday, and the hurricane center said it could be a major Category 4 storm with winds in excess of 130 mph (208 kph) at that time.
Tropical storm conditions were expected in South Florida Wednesday night, spreading northward and encompassing the rest of Florida as well as Georgia and South Carolina through Thursday night. The storm was moving north at 12 mph (19 km/h) with sustained winds of 87 mph (140 km/h) Wednesday night.
Helen could create a potentially deadly storm surge of up to 20 feet (6.1 meters) in parts of the Big Bend region, forecasters said. Tropical storm-force winds extended up to 345 miles (555 kilometers) from its center.
The storm’s fast-moving wind and rain could also penetrate far inland: The hurricane center has issued hurricane warnings as far as Georgia and tropical storm warnings as far as North Carolina, and it has warned that much of the Southeast could see extended power outages, downed trees and dangerous flooding.
Billions of dollars of damage to come
An insurance company, Gallagher Re, expects billions of dollars in damage across the United States. About 18,000 linemen from other states have gathered in Florida, ready to help restore power. Airports in St. Petersburg, Tallahassee and Tampa planned to close Thursday, and 62 hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities evacuated residents Wednesday.
PHOTO MARCO BELLO, REUTERS
People fill sandbags to prepare for the hurricane’s arrival Helenin Florida.
Georgia has activated 250 National Guard troops for rapid deployment. Game wardens, foresters and state Department of Corrections teams will help provide swift water rescues and other emergency response.
State meteorologist Will Lanxton said tropical storm-force winds are expected across Georgia. Lanxton said metro Atlanta has not seen sustained tropical storm-force winds since the hurricane. Irma in 2017.
“I think we’re going to see significant power outages, probably nothing like what we’ve seen, because it’s 159 counties,” said James Stallings, director of the Georgia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency.
On Wednesday, the National Weather Service issued an urgent warning for residents along Apalachee Bay: “There is a catastrophic and insurmountable storm surge danger for Apalachee Bay. Storm surge could begin arriving as early as Wednesday night ahead of the winds. This forecast, if realized, is a nightmare surge scenario for Apalachee Bay. Please, please take any evacuation orders seriously!”
Helen is expected to be one of the largest storms in years to hit the region, said Phil Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University. He said that since 1988, only three Gulf hurricanes have been larger than the expected size ofHelen : Irma in 2017, Wilma in 2005 and Opal in 1995.
Areas 100 miles north of the Georgia-Florida line can expect hurricane conditions. More than half of Georgia’s public school districts and several universities have canceled classes.
And for Atlanta, which is under tropical storm watch, Helen could be the worst strike on a major city in the interior South in 35 years, said Marshall Shepherd, a professor of meteorology at the University of Georgia.
Landslides were possible in the southern Appalachians, with catastrophic flooding expected in the Carolinas and Georgia, where all three governors have declared states of emergency. Rainfall is possible as far south as Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana.
Hurricane warnings have been issued for parts of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula asHelen wrapped around the western tip of Cuba and into the Gulf of Mexico. The storm formed in the Caribbean on Tuesday, flooding streets and toppling trees as it passed offshore and brushed the resort city of Cancun.
In Cuba, authorities moved livestock to higher ground and medical brigades went to communities often cut off by storms. The government preemptively cut power to some communities as waves as high as 5 metres (16 feet) pounded Cortes Bay. In the Cayman Islands, schools remained closed as residents pumped water from flooded homes.
Associated Press writers Seth Borenstein in New York, Jeff Amy in Atlanta, Danica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Andrea Rodríguez in Havana, Mark Stevenson and María Verza in Mexico City, and Claire Rush in Portland, Ore., contributed to this report. Hollingsworth reported from Mission, Kansas.